Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003

Lord Davies of Abersoch: My right honourable friend the Minister of State for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs (Pat McFadden) has made the following Statement.
	I am today launching a consultation on proposed amendments to the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003. These regulations govern the conduct of the private recruitment industry and set minimum standards for employment agencies and employment businesses operating from premises in Great Britain.
	This exercise is not directly related to the implementation of the EU Agency Workers Directive, on which a separate consultation will be launched in due course.
	The consultation I am launching today focuses on a range of issues. First, we want to take practical steps to tackle the bad practice of some rogue agencies in the entertainment and modelling sector, where, despite cooling-off measures introduced last year in respect of upfront fees, we know that abuse continues.
	Secondly, we want to introduce greater clarity and lines of responsibility between employment agencies and businesses that use them, particularly in respect of suitability checks for workers introduced for permanent recruitment. We think that this offers potential to reduce regulatory and administrative burdens on the recruitment industry sector without compromising appropriate protections for workers, employers and vulnerable groups.
	Thirdly, this consultation also offers the opportunity for us to restore postgraduate medical deaneries, which are responsible for the recruitment and training programme of junior doctors and junior dentists to NHS employers, to their previous position as a body exempt from employment agency legislation.
	We also invite views on a number of additional areas that we have identified in the conduct regulations that we think offer scope for reducing administrative burdens on employment agencies and businesses, or where we consider measures may be necessary to offer greater protection for vulnerable agency workers.
	These proposals would, overall, be burden-reducing for the private recruitment industry but also address areas of continuing concern regarding rogue operators. They demonstrate the Government's commitment both to help businesses through difficult times and to ensure effective protection for the vulnerable.
	The consultation will close on 11June and will be followed by a government response.

Elections: Civil Service Impartiality

Baroness Vadera: My right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Liam Byrne) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Guidance has today been issued to civil servants in UK departments on the principles which they should observe in relation to the conduct of government business in the run-up to the forthcoming elections to the European Parliament and to local authorities in England. These are taking place on 4 June 2009.
	The guidance sets out the need to maintain the political impartiality of the Civil Service and the need to ensure that public resources are not used for party political purposes. The period of sensitivity preceding the European and local elections starts on 14 May.
	Copies of the guidance have been placed in the Libraries of the House and on the Cabinet Office website atwww.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/propriety_and_ ethics/civil_service/election_guidance.aspx.

Finance Bill: Anti-avoidance Measure

Lord Myners: My right honourable friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Stephen Timms) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Avoidance schemes have been notified to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that exploit provisions under which individuals may claim relief for interest payments on loans used to invest in partnerships or small companies. Legislation will be introduced in the forthcoming Finance Bill to stop individuals exploiting these provisions for the purposes of tax avoidance. In future, interest will not be eligible for tax relief if it is paid as part of arrangements where the deductibility of the interest means that the investor is guaranteed to make a profit.
	The legislation, which will be effective in relation to interest paid on or after today, will not catch genuine commercial investments in business where there is uncertainty as to the return that will be produced from the investment.
	A copy of the draft legislation together with draft Explanatory Notes will be published shortly on HMRC's website.

Health: Cancer

Lord Darzi of Denham: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Ann Keen) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	We are committed to having a prostate cancer screening programme if and when screening and treatment techniques are sufficiently well developed. Major findings on screening for prostate cancer were published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) on 18 March 2009.
	The NEJM reports on two studies. The European trial (the European randomized study on screening for prostate cancer) started in 1993 and reports on 162,000 men from eight countries. It shows that the risk of dying from prostate cancer is reduced amongst those screened by around 20 per cent. However, around 48 men have to be treated for prostate cancer to avoid one death.
	The other research trial (the prostate, lung, colorectal, and ovarian cancer screening trial—PLCO) comes from the United Sates of America. This involves around 75,000 men and shows no benefit from screening.
	The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (UKNSC) regularly reviews its policy decisions in the light of new evidence. As a result of the new reports, we will formally ask the UKNSC to review the evidence on prostate cancer screening and make recommendations. We look forward to examining this new evidence.
	The prostate cancer risk management programme (PCRMP) is in place to ensure that men without symptoms of prostate cancer can have a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test free on the National Health Service provided they have made an informed choice about the advantages and disadvantages of the test. Any man contemplating having a PSA test or with symptoms of prostate cancer should speak to his general practitioner, who will be able to counsel him and provide him with evidence-based support materials.
	The Chief Medical Officer has sent an alert to all general practitioners in England to inform them of the new research findings, providing them with a link to the PCRMP materials to assist them in discussing the issues with their patients.

Hong Kong

Lord Malloch-Brown: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (David Miliband) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	The latest report on the implementation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong was published today. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House. A copy of the report is also available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at www.fco.gov.uk. The report covers the period from 1 July to 31 December 2008. I commend the report to the House.

Immigration

Lord West of Spithead: My honourable friend the Minister for Borders and Immigration (Phil Woolas) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	The UK Border Agency expects those with no right to remain in the United Kingdom to return home voluntarily; if they choose not to, we will enforce their removal. Where an individual, through no fault of their own, cannot be removed we will provide support to prevent destitution. This form of support is called Section 4 support and is intended as a limited and temporary form of support. Section 4 support is currently administered through a voucher system.
	I have approved plans to introduce a plastic payment card system for the administration of Section 4 support, personalised for each applicant. This will enable the UK Border Agency to cut down on the abuse of asylum support and provide a more efficient system.
	The UK Border Agency will pilot this scheme in June, with a view to rolling out the cards to all Section 4 applicants later this year.

Migration

Baroness Andrews: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Hazel Blears) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Today, I am publishing Managing the Impacts of Migration: Improvements and Innovations. It sets out the progress made across government against the commitments made in June 2008 to support local areas managing the impact of migration on their communities. The document also outlines new government support on migration issues and considers how the impact of migration on local communities and the Government's response to it has changed in the context of the economic downturn.
	The document sets out our continued commitment to controlling migration at a national level, and to ensuring that UK workers have the skills needed to fill vacancies and the opportunity to apply for these vacancies where they arise. Our aim is to ensure that local communities are as resilient as possible to changes brought about by migration. This update outlines the support we are giving to local areas, including:
	announcing a Migration Impacts Fund, paid for by increases to migrant fees, providing £35 million for 2009-10 and—subject to a review in the autumn of the economic position and the migrant fees being received—a similar amount in 2010-11.This fulfils the commitment made in the Home Office's February 2008 consultation on the path to citizenship to set up a fund to manage the transitional impacts of migration. The fund will be available to local services and will be allocated through government offices and local strategic partnerships;announcing our intention to consult on setting up a new Migration Impacts Committee of independent advisers to build on the work of the Migration Impacts Forum;the cross-government programme led by the Office for National Statistics to improve the population and migration statistics to deliver a package of improvements to be implemented in time to feed into key statistics published in 2010 and available to inform the next three-year local government finance settlement. The package announced includes technical improvements to the migration statistics, including the use of administrative sources, to produce a more robust local distribution of international migration and better internal migration estimates;setting out a programme of research into what drives migration to the UK, and the geographical pattern and timescales of this migration, together with the preliminary findings of research which supports evidence from other sources that migration to the UK is falling; andhighlighting that we will shortly be issuing a consultation on reviewing the criteria for selective licensing of all privately rented property in designated areas to ensure local authorities have the tools they need to deal with problem properties.
	The document has been placed in the Library of the House and can be accessed via the Communities and Local Government websiteat www.communities. gov.uk/communities/racecohesionfaith/asylumand immigration/.

Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups

Lord West of Spithead: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Identity (Meg Hillier) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Since January this year, the new Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) has been taking all barring decisions on new cases referred to it under the current barring provisions of POVA, POCA and List 99. This has replaced barring decisions by Ministers with independent decision-making in relation to those persons considered unsuitable to work with children or vulnerable adults.
	From 12 October this year, we will bring into force the barring provisions under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, significantly extending the range of activities and workplaces from which individuals may be barred to include all regulated activities, as defined by the Act. In particular, a wider range of posts and workplaces which provide for vulnerable adults will now be covered by the barring arrangements. The ISA will make independent barring decisions on cases referred to it, and bars will apply to paid employment and voluntary work in regulated activities. From this date, those barred under current arrangements who have been transferred to the new barred lists by the ISA will also be barred from the wider scope of regulated activities. It will be an offence for any barred person to work in regulated activities, and for any employer to employ someone he knows to be barred, in either a paid or voluntary capacity. Requirements will also come into force for employers to refer relevant cases to the ISA in instances of harm to the vulnerable groups.
	With effect from July 2010, the final element of the new scheme will be phased in. Those wishing to work with children or vulnerable adults will be able to apply for registration with the new scheme; the ISA will consider all cases referred to it and will be able to bar those considered unsuitable for such work; and continuous monitoring of those registered with the scheme will commence. New entrants to the workforce and those changing posts will apply to the scheme first, under plans to phase in the workforce gradually. In order not to disrupt normal recruitment processes over the summer period, relevant criminal offences will not be brought into force until November 2010. At this point, registration with the new scheme and the requirement for employers to check registered status will become mandatory for the phased-in groups.